Athens Utilities deposit bonds for business accounts.
Quote on review.
When Athens Utilities, the city utility department in Athens, Alabama, asks a commercial or industrial customer for a deposit, the council’s deposit schedule lets it consist of an approved bond instead of cash. The utility sets the deposit; we size the bond to it and return a quote, usually within one business day.
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How much does an Athens Utilities deposit bond cost?
It is underwritten: the premium is quoted from the bond amount and your financial picture, so there is no flat price to show.
From deposit request to bond on file.
Athens Utilities tells you the deposit; the bond stands in for it. Here is the whole process, start to finish:
Send us the deposit amount
Apply online with the deposit amount Athens Utilities set, the service address the bond covers, the effective date, and your business details. Before you apply, confirm with the Customer Accounts office that it will take a bond on your account and for what amount.
A surety specialist quotes it
A specialist reviews the file and returns your premium. The bond issues the moment you pay — no credit review of any kind, not even a soft pull. No obligation until you accept the quote.
Deliver it to Customer Accounts
Once you accept and pay, the executed bond is issued ready to deliver to Athens Utilities Customer Accounts at 105 West Green Street in Athens in place of the cash deposit. Wet-ink originals mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the Athens Utilities deposit bond actually does
Athens Utilities is a department of the City of Athens, Alabama, supplying electricity, natural gas, and water and wastewater service across Athens and Limestone County. Because it is a municipal system, its deposit rules are set by the Athens City Council, not by the Alabama Public Service Commission, which does not regulate municipal utilities. The bond runs to the City of Athens, acting through Athens Utilities, as obligee.
On December 14, 2009 the council passed the schedule of deposits and fees the utility still publishes. For business accounts it offers four ways to secure the deposit: “All commercial and industrial utility deposits may consist of cash, approved bond, joint certificate of deposit, or irrevocable letter of credit from an approved bank.” The bond guarantees payment of your utility bills up to the bonded amount. If the account closes unpaid, the city recovers against the bond instead of a cash balance it would otherwise be holding.
The deposit, and so the bond, follows your own usage. Commercial and industrial electric and gas deposits are two months’ average billing based on expected usage (gas can instead be an amount negotiated under contract with the Gas Department manager), and the schedule says deposits are adjusted over time as usage history builds. Smaller commercial water and sewer meters carry published deposits by meter size, with water deposits higher outside the city limits; meters over two inches and industrial water and sewer accounts return to two months’ average billing.
Two practical points. The schedule says “approved bond”, so Athens Utilities decides whether it accepts a bond on your account — confirm with Customer Accounts (256-233-8750) before you buy. And it is not insurance for you: if the surety pays the city, you repay the surety. The benefit is cash flow — the deposit stays in your business instead of sitting with the utility.
You need this bond if you are
Claims, renewal, filing, and what sets the price.
If a claim is made
A claim comes from the party the bond protects, the obligee named on the form, when the duty the bond guarantees is not met.
The surety investigates and pays a valid claim, up to the bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
Term and renewal are set in the underwriter's quote.
Keep the bond in force for as long as the obligation behind it runs.
How to file it
Deliver it to Customer Accounts. Once you accept and pay, the executed bond is issued ready to deliver to Athens Utilities Customer Accounts at 105 West Green Street in Athens in place of the cash deposit. Wet-ink originals mailed on request.
What sets the price
This bond is underwritten: the premium is quoted from the bond amount and your financial picture, so there is no flat price to show.
One application, one specialist review.
These are the actual fields: the deposit amount Athens Utilities set, the effective date, the service address the bond covers, and your business details. A surety specialist reviews it and returns a quote, typically within one business day. Free until your bond is issued.
Start the application →Common questions.
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Keep your deposit working.
Send us the deposit amount Athens Utilities required on your business account, and a surety specialist quotes the bond — typically within one business day. Free until issued.